


You and Me (and the Dolma Makes Three)

by Aerica_Menai



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: All the knights of the round table are together and alive, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Changing the laws on magic, Galahad as a knight (OC), Good Mordred (Merlin), Lancelot (Merlin) Lives, M/M, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Pre-Relationship, Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:21:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24033442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerica_Menai/pseuds/Aerica_Menai
Summary: Set in a Camelot where Arthur decided to continue consulting the Dolma as a magical advisor, eventually leading to him deciding to rewrite the laws on magic...and reconsider his feelings about a certain sorcerer.
Relationships: Gwen/Lancelot (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 47
Kudos: 590





	You and Me (and the Dolma Makes Three)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paalme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paalme/gifts).



> This...got out of hand. The original prompt (found here: https://aerica13.tumblr.com/post/190716091007) was a starting point but ended up being more of a footnote than anything else. Whoops. Hopefully it's an acceptable birthday gift anyway, paalme <3
> 
> Beta'd and cheerleaded by the always amazing @grayraincurtain - and got a push from @alicenginger, who has been encouraging (and continues to encourage!) my writing in all this madness; so many thanks to you both!
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Merlin knew that, as Gaius kept warning him, it was dangerous to keep meeting with Arthur as the Dolma.

He knew, but it never stopped him.

He told Gaius that what he was doing was helping the king see that magic was not always a force for evil, that it could be good, that the Dolma helping Arthur with magical threats and looming problems was for the good of the people - both magical and not.

…Which was entirely true. What Merlin never mentioned to anybody was how amazing it felt to be seen by Arthur as someone to respect, an equal to the king - no longer an unappreciated shadow, but recognized for his deeds. (Or, well, her deeds, to be precise, but - not the point.)

That was what kept Merlin changing himself again and again, that was what drove him to the increasingly dangerous meet ups with Arthur.

…Well. That and the flirting he could get away with.

Look, Merlin had been pining for his king for quite a long time, and the Dolma was a safe way to vent those feelings without anything happening - Arthur was too respectful to say anything about stopping to the Dolma’s face, and Merlin got everything off his chest that he couldn’t say as the king’s personal manservant/advisor. Best case scenario, everyone won.

So there was absolutely no way Merlin was going to stop.

*~*

The Dolma and Arthur had set up a system; Arthur was still wary of letting the public know about his sorceress advisor, so he would ride out to meet her in the clearing where he pulled Excalibur from the stone. The Dolma knew of this location because of its great prophesied importance, of course (Merlin glared Mordred into submission when the young knight looked to be on the verge of releasing his laughter; Lancelot let out a loud cough to cover his own amusement and earned him his own glare. Arthur took it on faith, assuming that the Dolma was grumpy for other reasons). 

In any case, that was the meeting place, and the Dolma was always there when Arthur and his knights appeared, no matter how early Arthur tried to arrive in order to see how and from where the Dolma appeared. He always took Mordred with him, since Mordred had been there when Arthur had first met the sorceress, and soon settled on Lancelot as his second knight - as he was the most comfortable with magic and also had the calmest temperament. Leon and Elyan were too skittish, Gwaine was too loud, Galahad was too young to balance out Mordred’s own youth and Percival - well. Percival was the opposite of subtle, so he was unfortunately never in the running. Percival took no offense. 

So whenever there was a rogue sorcerer or magical beast running loose, a magical illness or suspiciously widespread crop damage - any time something magical threatened the kingdom and its wellbeing, Arthur consulted with the Dolma. He quickly learned that she refused to interfere when the magic was minor or otherwise not harmful; those were meetings that ended quickly and Arthur left feeling like a chastened child. 

She listened carefully to the larger threats, however, and often promised to deal with them herself without any need for help from Arthur or his knights - despite Arthur’s many offers. She always smiled and cooed that he was a kind boy, but she wasn’t old enough to need their help yet.

…Arthur had to admit, he preferred feeling like a chastened child or being called a kind boy to the Dolma’s...other compliments. The overly-familiar ones about his golden looks or generous heart - the ones that had Mordred and Lancelot muffling their laughter behind him as he flushed bright red and tried to carefully (without hurting her feelings!) change the subject. 

Usually the Dolma let him - not without a smirk to let him know she was onto him, of course - and Arthur was forced to endure the laughing and light-hearted teasing from Lancelot and Mordred all the way back to Camelot. He tolerated it, but swore that if they dared to mention ANY of it to Merlin they would be punished swiftly and severely. For some reason this always provoked more stifled laughter before both of them swore silence.

Sometimes he wondered about his knights.

*~*

Merlin had to admit, if it hadn’t been for Lancelot, his and Mordred’s relationship could have quickly deteriorated to the point of no return, with Merlin frantically pushing Mordred away and Mordred, finally, having to accept that Merlin was never going to trust him. Instead, Lancelot took Mordred under his wing, gave Mordred someone else who knew about his magic and still trusted him, and Lancelot was even the knight who found Galahad. Once Galahad had been presented to Arthur and almost - almost! - defeated Arthur in his first practice skirmish, Arthur was quick to knight him - and Mordred and Galahad were fast friends, bonding as the youngest and the newest Knights of the Round Table. 

That’s when Lancelot started his campaign to soften Merlin on Mordred. He talked incessantly about Mordred’s progress as a knight, his pride at being able to hold his own against Arthur (even if he had yet to defeat him), his determination to protect Arthur and his fellow knights from harm…eventually, Merlin broke and started to really trust Mordred; teaching him some spells that would be useful on the battlefield for protecting himself and the other knights - Arthur in particular, of course.

And Mordred blossomed under such tutelage, balancing his knight’s training with the magical training Merlin squeezed in during his limited free time; and the next time Arthur rode off into danger, Merlin was there as always but no longer quite so tense. He let the sight of Mordred following Arthur closely calm his nerves; Mordred was no longer a danger, but a trusted ally.

(The next time the dragon tried to convince Merlin that Mordred was Arthur’s doom, Merlin ordered him to never speak of it again; he was Emrys, and he had rewritten destiny. Even the Disir had noticed Arthur’s improvement and sent Merlin a message congratulating him for doing so.)

*~*

On his latest night journey to visit his advisor on magical issues, Arthur marveled at how much had changed. He was no longer fearful of magic, but respectful of its power and feared only those who used it to harm him and his people; he had stopped pursuing reports of local sorcerers unless they were performing harmful or dark magic, and as such most reports had trickled to a stop and the executions had similarly decreased; he had a magical advisor, for goodness sake! 

In fact, Arthur started to muse, it was probably time to start the process of changing the laws - changes in his behavior may help change the minds of many, but the laws should change as well to reflect it. As the Dolma was fond of reminding him, his magical subjects were still his subjects and he was still responsible for their wellbeing; changing the laws would go a long way toward earning their goodwill.

After consulting the Dolma on the latest magical creature rampage - which she promised to deal with in the next few days, after she gathered some necessary supplies - Arthur didn’t leave, but fidgeted with his reins as he tried to figure out how to phrase his request.

“Spit it out, handsome, I know there’s something going on under that gorgeous hair of yours,” the Dolma cooed, smirking wickedly as Arthur felt himself flush.

“I - “ He sputtered for a second before clearing his throat. “I was just wondering, if…you might have any thoughts…about me changing the laws on magic…” He swallowed and continued. “…And starting to meet at court instead of here in the forest.”

The Dolma was quiet for a surprisingly long time, before Arthur was shocked to hear a wet sniffle. “I…Sire, I would like nothing more,” she finally croaked, before giving a deep curtsey. “And if you need any help with the writing of such new laws, I would be honored to assist.”

Arthur inclined his head, internally reeling at the depth of her reaction but reassured that he was doing the right thing. “Thank you, madam. Of course, you are more than welcome to come assist with the composition of the new laws; I will send you a missive when we begin.”

“Your Majesty,” the Dolma replied, curtseying deeply again before vanishing into the forest.

Arthur turned to see that both of his knights looked slightly weepy themselves. “You two as well?” he asked incredulously.

“I - we - have friends who will be *very* heartened by the news, sire,” Lancelot replied carefully.

Arthur studied his first knight closely before deciding to let it go. “Don’t go spreading the news yet, I want to keep it quiet until the older lords can’t do anything to stop it. The last thing we want is to tip them off too early and have them sabotage our efforts.”

“Of course,” Lancelot replied, and Mordred nodded fervently.

The ride back to the castle was quiet, Arthur’s mind racing at how he should rewrite the laws on magic. Gaius and Geoffrey should consult, of course, as they were the only two left who remembered the laws before Uther changed them; the Dolma would offer a magical perspective, and perhaps Arthur would be able to find another couple magical opinions as the process wore on; Merlin would be their scribe, as Arthur needed him there to help center himself and remind himself that this was for the better, no matter how many times his father’s angry voice might try to change his mind.

Gwen would need to be made aware of the changes, so she could prepare the castle for the upcoming announcement and start feast preparations as well. 

But first…first, he was going to tell Merlin.

*~*

Merlin arrived at the castle breathless and laughing almost hysterically; Arthur was really going to do it! He was going to change the laws on magic!

He was so excited his magic kept bursting out of his fingertips as blindingly bright gold sparks, so he busied himself with the fireplace until he could wrangle his magic back under control, after which he magicked Arthur’s bath full of perfect-temperature water and tidied the royal chambers as he waited for Arthur’s return.

*~*

Arthur burst into his chambers, expecting to see Merlin, but his manservant was nowhere to be found. Arthur was confused, until he saw the steaming bath already prepared for him. He stripped off his armor and clothes as he walked towards the inviting miracle - how on earth had Merlin timed it so perfectly?

He was down to his smallclothes and about to dispose of those when he heard a crash from behind him. He turned - Merlin had arrived, and apparently tripped over his armor? Arthur shook his head at Merlin’s clumsiness as he sank into the perfectly hot water, groaning.

“Thank you, Merlin, this is exactly what I needed.”

“M - my pleasure, sire,” Merlin squeaked behind him.

Arthur frowned. Why did Merlin sound like that?

“Merlin? Did you - are you injured?” Arthur started to stand up.

“No, no,” Merlin squeaked - again - before clearing his throat and continuing on in a more normal voice, “no, I’m not injured, Arthur. Just something stuck in my throat.” He cleared it again before asking, “And how did your meeting go tonight?”

Arthur grinned as he leaned back against the edge of the tub. “Nothing major, just decided to officially rewrite the laws on magic.”

He heard another crash - Merlin must have started picking up his armor and dropped it at his announcement. “Truly?” Merlin asked in a small voice.

“Truly,” Arthur repeated softly.

Arthur was turned away, so he couldn’t be sure, but he thought he heard a small sniffle.

“This - this is great news, sire,” Merlin finally choked out.

Arthur ducked under the water so Merlin couldn’t see the wide smile that spread over his face. He quickly resurfaced and cleared his throat, his tone more business-like. “I want to start having quiet meetings about wording and such tomorrow; Gaius and Geoffrey, of course, must be there, and I figured you wouldn’t mind acting as scribe, Merlin.”

“Thank you, Arthur,” Merlin responded gratefully.

“Anyone else you can think of who should be there? I expect the Dolma to be busy for a few days, but I should let her know that we will be working on a draft…”

“Perhaps…” Merlin hesitated but continued. “Perhaps Mordred?”

Arthur frowned. “Mordred?”

Merlin cleared his throat. “He did grow up with the Druids, sire - he would have insight into what kind of rules they used to keep the peace, as well as what they might like to see in our own laws.”

“True,” Arthur admitted. “That is a good idea. And you might want to ask Lancelot if he knows anyone who would like to be present as well - he mentioned knowing some who would be affected by the changing laws.”

“I will,” Merlin promised.

“Thank you, Merlin. I think that will be all for the night - why don’t you go tell Gaius the good news.”

“Thank you, sire,” Merlin replied, smile clear in his voice, before he left the room. 

Arthur sank deeper into his bath, delighted that his decision had brought Merlin so much joy; his manservant had been down a lot recently, and it was nice to hear him be excited about something again.

*~*

Merlin burst into Gaius’ chambers, both surprised and not surprised to see the elderly healer still awake and reading. “Gaius, you will never believe what Arthur just told me!”

Gaius peered at Merlin over his glasses. “…That he’s going to rewrite the laws on magic?”

“That he’s going to - oh.” Merlin frowned. “Who told you?”

“Mordred paid Geoffrey a visit and asked to see any books he still had on the laws about magic before the Great Purge; Geoffrey didn’t have any filed, of course, but he was able to point Mordred towards some interesting tomes in the farthest, dustiest history shelves.” Gaius gave Merlin a pointed look. “And Geoffrey put the pieces together and immediately came to let me know - he left only a little bit before you came bowling in here and interrupted my reading of my own notes on the subject, old as they are.”

Merlin slumped in his chair. “I wanted to surprise you. Arthur said we start meeting tomorrow - I’m going to be scribe for it.”

Gaius raised an eyebrow. “Quite the honor, Merlin; but for now, you should get some sleep and let me do some reading before that meeting.”

Merlin grumbled but wished Gaius good night and shuffled off to his bed; he didn’t think he would be able to sleep, but maybe if he lay still and closed his eyes, he would drift off.

*~*

The next day was even more chaotic than usual; aside from his usual taking-care-of-the-king duties, Arthur had loaned Merlin out to Geoffrey as help moving necessary books to the meeting room; a dusty and difficult process, especially when tackled alone, since secrecy was paramount. It did occur to Merlin that Mordred could be helping - but not until he was almost done, anyway, so Merlin just got on with it, even if he grumbled about the injustice. 

Once the meeting room was set up to Geoffrey’s satisfaction, Merlin ran around the castle collecting anyone who was coming to contribute - Gaius, Mordred and Percival (who, as it turned out, had lived in an area that accepted magic before Lancelot had asked him to come to Camelot). 

Arthur would come by when he had the time, the Dolma was supposedly off killing the beast (which Merlin would have to get to sooner rather than later, but he had bought himself a little time) and Mordred was planning to reach out to the Druids and see if anyone would be willing to come and weigh in. The dragon would have a lot to say, Merlin was sure, but also was supposed to be dead, so perhaps Merlin would consult with him later.

So for now, Merlin was scribbling as Geoffrey and Gaius argued over what the past laws had said, the two young knights watching wide-eyed and muttering ideas at Merlin when either of the elder men paused to take a breath.

(Merlin hadn’t thought anyone other than himself could even attempt to out-stubborn Gaius, but apparently Geoffrey was well up to the task.)

The arguing didn’t really stop until Arthur walked in and ordered the two of them to talk civilly or not at all. There was some grumbling but Arthur’s “obey me” voice finally did the trick; Gaius and Geoffrey started to compare notes and come to compromises or understandings rather than raise their voices. By the end of the night, Merlin barely able to keep his eyes open, the group had started on a rough but solid first draft of new magic laws; mostly focusing on how to differentiate between harmful vs neutral or good magic and how to treat the uses of each.

Arthur clapped Merlin on the shoulder and ordered him to get some sleep; he was not going to need Merlin’s services tomorrow, and this group would reconvene in two days’ time, hopefully with the addition of a couple new members.

Merlin nodded and stumbled off to bed; he should use his day off tomorrow to deal with the rampaging magical beast, plan how he was going to explain his own absence once the Dolma showed up, and also talk to the dragon for ideas.

…So much for being a day off.

*~*

Merlin wiped a hand across his brow. The “rampaging monster” that had terrorized so many towns was meek as a kitten now that Merlin had found her a nice, empty-of-humans patch of forest, near the entrance to Avalon.

Once he was done with resettling her, he had called down Kilgarrah. The dragon had been surprisingly unhelpful, no concrete suggestions for the Dolma to bring to the table, so after Kilgarrah had heard the news and expressed his excitement and pride, Merlin let him fly off; it was time Merlin started heading back to the castle, anyway. He still had to figure out what excuse he was using to explain away his absence…

He’d think about it on his trip back; if something didn’t come to him, maybe Gaius could help.

*~*

By the time he arrived at the castle, only a few hours of his day off left, he hadn’t come up with anything better than gathering herbs for Gaius, which he wasn’t sure would fly with Arthur.

He stumbled through the castle and collapsed on the table bench in Gaius’ chambers. 

“What am I going to do, Gaius?” he moaned.

He couldn’t see it, but he could feel the eyeball Gaius gave. “About what, my boy?” Gaius asked patiently.

“The Dolma has to show up tomorrow,” Merlin exclaimed, arms gesturing wildly, “and you know I can’t be there if she is, but how the hell am I going to explain my absence to Arthur?”

“Oh, is that all?” Gaius replied, to Merlin’s surprise. “I had already thought of that - you’re going to be fetching my friend Alice.”

Merlin gaped. “What?”

“Well, Arthur was asking if I knew anyone who might have perspective to add, and I thought of my friend Alice - she escaped the Great Purge, you know, and with the laws relaxing over the past few years, she got in touch recently - she and I were both living in Camelot before it all happened, so she is just as useful of a resource as myself. I told Arthur that she’s worried about making the trip herself, so I’m sending you to fetch her.” Gaius chuckled. “It’s a good thing he never met her, otherwise he might question why she would even think of asking for an escort. Anyway, I told Arthur that you would be leaving at first light to meet her, so you’re free and clear for at least a week - and you get to sleep in tomorrow morning, even.”

Merlin flopped back on the bench. “Gaius, have I ever mentioned that you the absolute best and I have no idea what I would do without you?”

Gaius harrumphed. “Maybe, dear boy, but it wouldn’t hurt to say it more often.”

Merlin smiled. “You’re right, o wise mentor of mine, and I will - but for now, I am going to catch up on some much-needed sleep.”

“I’ll make sure you’re up in time for the meeting,” Gaius called as Merlin shuffled into bed and fell asleep the minute his head hit the pillow.

*~*

When Arthur entered the next magical law meeting, he was surprised to see the Dolma in attendance, dictating notes to Mordred - who must have taken the position of scribe during Merlin’s absence, Arthur thought with a pang. He already missed his manservant - his friend and advisor as well, he admitted to himself on better days - but Gaius had been very stern about having him fetch Alice. So Arthur was coping.

In any case, the Dolma. Present, which meant - 

“Yes, yes, the rampaging beast has been dealt with, don’t worry your pretty head,” the Dolma interrupted his chain of thought with an airy wave, before diving right back into it. “Now, Mordred, don’t forget - “

“Wait, that’s it?” Arthur blurted out, regretting the words almost immediately.

The Dolma froze before turning a powerful glare on him. “Your Majesty,” she began frostily, and Arthur gulped. “I understand, you want to ensure the safety of your people. I understand that, which is why I am going to politely explain that like every other time, I have done my task as you requested, and I am starting to take offense at your lack of trust in my abilities. Now, please do let me finish my thought to help save *my* people - I am old, things don’t stay up here too well,” she snapped.

Arthur half-opened his mouth before thinking better of it, simply nodding and retreating hastily to a far corner, the Dolma’s glare following him until he sat down.

He had made the mistake of sitting next to Lancelot, who gave him a reproachful look. 

“I know, I know,” Arthur grumbled. “I need to trust her, she’s here to help and offending her is not very kingly of me, I shouldn’t let my emotions get the better of me so often now that I’m king…Have I forgotten any possible admonitions?”

“How about respecting your elders, who have been on this earth for far longer than you and may have lost some patience for the impulsivity of youth in that time?” Gaius added with a fearsome eyebrow raise.

Arthur slumped in his chair. “Yes, Gaius, you’re right,” he mumbled.

Gaius nodded sharply before turning back to his conversation with Geoffrey, who also shot Arthur a narrow-eyed glare before attending to Gaius’ words.

Arthur buried his head in his arms. Maybe he should head back out to the training grounds and beat up a few dummies, or even a couple of his knights if they were there; Merlin not being around always put him in something of a bad mood, but his magical advisors hadn’t deserved to be the targets of his ire. No one did, really, but Merlin was the safest and most trusted in his inner circle, and as such often took the brunt it. Not that Merlin didn’t swing back with his own sharp tongue - much like the Dolma, actually, now that Arthur was thinking about it. 

Once again, the Dolma interrupted his train of thought with a loud “harrumph” that had Arthur springing upward in his chair.

“Do you need a blow-by-blow account of my disposing of your beast, sire?” she asked coldly.

Arthur bowed his head. “No, madam, you’re correct, I - I trust you. If you say the job is done and my people are safe, I take your word for it. I behaved badly earlier, I - “ He cleared his throat. He had been about to admit that he missed Merlin, out loud! “I should not have, and I apologize.”

She sniffed but replied, “Very well. Apology accepted.”

Arthur raised his head. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

She narrowed her eyes, before seeming to take his request at face value. “Cushions, perhaps? I understand that most of you young’uns are accustomed to hard chairs like these, but these old bones creak and I would appreciate the reprieve.”

Lancelot sprang up immediately. “Madam, of course; I’ll go consult with the seneschal immediately.”

The Dolma gave a small curtsey. “Many thanks! And don’t forget to share those thanks with your lovely seneschal - a kiss will do for her, I believe,” the Dolma finished with a wink.

Lancelot blushed and sputtered a bit before fleeing the room.

The Dolma cackled as she settled back in her seat, Mordred and Gaius chuckling along. 

Arthur had to admit the Dolma’s matchmaking aimed at Lance and Gwen rather than himself was amusing, but - how did the Dolma even know?

“I know things, boyo,” the Dolma responded, as though she knew his thoughts. “How many times have you tried to surprise me in the forest and failed?”

Arthur inclined his head in agreement.

“Don’t waste too many thoughts on it, pretty boy,” the Dolma smirked. “Instead, why don’t you turn some of them towards answering some questions, hmm? I know Lancelot has the beautiful Guinevere on his mind - who is it that features in the thoughts of our golden king?”

Arthur sputtered. 

“Oh don’t be shy,” she giggled, “who is on your mind that distracts from all of this?” she asked as she gestured to herself teasingly.

Arthur was so startled by her blatant insinuations - in front of Gaius and Geoffrey, no less! - that he blurted exactly who was usually on his mind: “Merlin, of course.”

Gaius and Geoffrey both fell silent, and Mordred suddenly spilled the ink he had been dipping his quill into.

“Oh really?” the Dolma purred, placing her chin in her hands. “Do tell.”

“I - uh - training! I need to go train the knights,” Arthur blurted out as he beat a hasty retreat from the room.

That had been a disaster!

*~*

Merlin was frozen. Had he really - had *Arthur* really - and Gaius and Mordred *knew*!

He could feel their stares but blatantly ignored them, mind racing. What the hell was he going to do - *was* he going to do anything? Where would he even start?

His tumultuous thoughts were interrupted by Lancelot’s return, his arms full of cushions. He looked around the room and raised an eyebrow. “What did I miss?”

And - that was it. Merlin couldn’t take listening to anyone try and describe the - the disaster that just took place. He stood up, announced grandly that he had to retire for the day and would be back tomorrow, before disappearing. 

If he had anything to say about it, the Dolma was going to be busy until Merlin could conceivably return.

*~*

Mordred was trying to shake off the shock. Yes, Merlin aka the Dolma’s flirting had finally broken Arthur; yes, Arthur had actually admitted *out loud* that Merlin was often on his mind, in the same way that Gwen was often on Lancelot’s mind; and yes, Arthur and Merlin had both immediately run away rather than doing anything about it.

Clearly that last bit was the most important.

“Alright, since our arguably most important guest has…left, perhaps we should reconvene tomorrow?” Mordred quickly asked, Gaius and Geoffrey dazedly nodding. “Wonderful! Lancelot, you’re with me,” Mordred declared as he bodily hauled Lancelot out of the room, cushions dropping as they went.

“Mordred! Mordred, where are we going? No, wait - more importantly, what *happened*?”

Mordred groaned. “I don’t know what exactly happened, but basically - the Dolma broke Arthur.”

Lancelot just blinked. “I mean, we did expect that to happen sooner rather than later?”

Mordred chuckled mirthlessly. “To show exactly how much the Dolma broke him, Arthur decided to tell the whole meeting that he’s in love with Merlin. Or, at least, heavily imply it.”

Lancelot screeched them to a halt. “He WHAT?”

Mordred turned to face him. “RIGHT?”

Lancelot rubbed a hand over his face. “And of course, this was right in front of…”

“Yep. As you can see, that had quite the effect on her.”

The older knight groaned. “So what now?”

Mordred started dragging them forward again. “Now, we’re going to go save the other knights from Arthur’s hellish ‘I’m-ignoring-my-feelings’ training.”

“Oh shit,” Lancelot realized, and picked up the pace.

*~*

The rest of the Round Table was glaring daggers at Arthur when Mordred and Lancelot arrived.

“Alright, you lazy sods, shove off,” Arthur bellowed. “Your fellow knights have just saved your asses!”

Mordred and Lancelot all got commiserating and thankful pats on the back as the rest of the knights fled.

“Alright - Mordred, you’re up against me. Lancelot, 100 strikes - clean ones, mind you! - on the dummy while we go.”

Mordred and Lancelot glanced despairingly at each other before getting to it. Mordred was no match for Arthur at his most ruthless and fierce; he lost count of the amount of times he hit the ground and Arthur barked at him to get back up. At some point, he snapped. Enough was enough.

“Sire,” he panted as Arthur kept relentlessly attacking, “sire, please - “

“No talking,” Arthur gritted out, sweeping his sword behind Mordred’s legs. Once again, Mordred was on the ground - and he had no intention of getting back up. 

“Is torturing us like this actually making you feel better, sire?” he spat. 

Arthur just gaped at him, while Lancelot paused in his own exercise, panting out a scandalized, “Mordred!”

“I’m sorry,” Mordred snapped, “this is ridiculous! I know it, you know it, and certainly if Merlin were here - “

And that was when Arthur flinched.

“- Exactly!” Mordred groaned. “None of this would be happening if Merlin was here. Enough already! Feelings aren’t fun, sire, but that doesn’t mean you get to beat the rest of us to death over it!”

Arthur seemed torn between helping Mordred up and shouting more; Lancelot must have decided that Mordred was right, because he uttered a soft, “What would Merlin say if he saw this, sire?”

Arthur’s face went eerily blank. “Dismissed,” he uttered tonelessly before striding back towards the castle.

Lancelot offered Mordred a hand up, and the two knights nearly fell over at the effort but managed to stay on their feet.

“No Merlin means no one to help Arthur get his armor off,” Mordred groaned. “What are the chances he’s completely forgotten and ends up getting it off himself and denting it?”

Lancelot blanched. He waved over a passing servant and asked him to find the seneschal and send her to the king’s chambers.

“Gwen’ll make sure Arthur doesn’t damage his armor,” Lancelot grunted as he and Mordred started their slow walk to the castle.

“Maybe she’ll talk some sense into him too,” Mordred gasped back.

*~*

Arthur gritted his teeth as he crashed into his chambers. He had forgotten Merlin would not be there to attend him, and he would have thrown his helmet in a fit of pique if there hadn’t been someone unexpected already there, staring him down with a disapproving glare.

“Gwen,” Arthur grumbled, handing his helmet over when she held her hands out for it.

“Arthur,” she returned as she placed it safely on the table.

“Who ratted me out?” Arthur griped as she came up behind him and started to take off the rest of his armor. 

“Who do you think?” was her calm reply.

Arthur mumbled curses under his breath but made no other response as she peeled off his armor, piece by piece.

“Arthur, what happened?” she sighed as she gathered the heavy metal into a pile and rang for a page to come fetch it.

“Nothing happened,” Arthur muttered as he wished that he had thought to call for a bath earlier.

“Something must have,” Gwen insisted. “Will you tell me if I offer up a ready bath in exchange?”

Arthur gazed at her wondrously. “You have a bath already prepared?” he asked wistfully.

“It was *supposed* to be for Lancelot,” Gwen chided, “but since he has yet to appear - which I will be asking you about, by the way,” she added disapprovingly, “I am willing to offer it to you and start up another bath for him in your chambers. If you talk to me,” Gwen ended firmly.

Arthur wavered, but in the end, a hot bath was far more important than having to talk about his feelings - this was Gwen, after all.

Gwen bustled off doing - something, maybe organizing for Lancelot’s new bath - and Arthur sank into the warm bath with a loud groan. It wasn’t as perfect as the baths Merlin managed to keep an exact right temperature every time, but it was certainly a relief to his sore muscles. Arthur closed his eyes and basked in the comforting heat.

He was surprised Gwen gave him a full quarter hour of relaxing before knocking to announce her presence, as well as asking him what was wrong - again. “You don’t work the knights like that unless something has really upset you,” she reminded him with a knowing glance.

Arthur sulkily sunk deeper into the water, only leaving his eyes visible.

“Come on, sire.” Gwen’s lips twitched. “If you don’t spill, I’ll go fetch some cold water.”

Arthur shot upright. “You wouldn’t!”

Gwen glared at him.

He subsided with a grumble. “…Might have accidentally admitted to the whole magical council that I fancy Merlin,” he finally muttered. 

Gwen raised an eyebrow. “That…that’s it?”

Arthur flinched. “I - guess so.”

Her eyes narrowed. “No, if that was it, you wouldn’t have been quite so upset. You’ve laughed off plenty of things like that before. What changed?”

Arthur bit his lip. “I guess…after I said it…I started wondering if it…might be true?”

Gwen’s eyes widened. “You mean - “

“I don’t *know* what I mean, that’s the problem!” Arthur moaned, burying his head in his hands.

Gwen smirked to herself for a second before smoothing out her expression. “It sounds to me, Arthur, like you should be talking to Merlin.”

“Which I would have, if he wasn’t off on a trip,” Arthur grumbled petulantly.

“Do you think you can stop yourself from breaking all your knights between now and Merlin’s arrival?” Gwen asked archly.

Arthur pouted. “Yes,” he finally grumbled. “No more extreme training for the knights.”

“Good,” Gwen chirped. “Then I’m off to deal with my own problems - like the ones about life-changing magic laws that require a great deal of preparation,” she ribbed him gently.

“You’re a saint, Gwen, none of us deserve you,” he called after her, before smirking and adding, “Except maybe Lancelot!”

“Don’t start a war you can’t win, sire!” was her quick reply, but he knew she was blushing - as she always did when Lancelot’s name came up. 

It was probably getting time to talk to one or both of them about making a move already…but maybe he should figure out his own love life first.

*~*

The next morning, seeing how bedraggled his knights were at training, he apologized for his harsh treatment the day before and gave them the next two days off; he had enough non-Round-Table knights to take care of everything until his best knights recovered. 

With that done, he had plenty of kingly duties to attend to - including the one he dreaded most, going back to the magical council meeting (as he had started referring to the group). 

As much as he worried about going - and facing not only his well-known companions, but also the Dolma - when the time came, he made his way to the chamber they had taken over. When he walked in, there was a moment of silence before everyone started talking again - only Gaius stood up to walk over to Arthur. 

“Good evening, sire,” the physician greeted.

“Good evening,” Arthur replied, looking around the room in confusion. “Did the Dolma - “

Gaius blinked carefully in the way Arthur knew concealed the desire to roll his eyes. “She mentioned another task she had to attend to, sire.”

“Oh,” Arthur said softly, barely noticing the way Mordred’s eyebrows rose across the room. “I’m sure she’ll be back,” Arthur continued hurriedly, brushing off his momentary disappointment. “What progress have you made today?”

Gaius was quick to lead him to the parchment Mordred was working on, explaining the additions and edits they had made over the course of the day, but Arthur could feel that Gaius and Mordred were exchanging looks about - something. Something they clearly wanted to discuss but couldn’t or didn’t want to with him there. Arthur could take a hint, despite what many thought about him; he made himself scarce as soon as he could.

*~*

Mordred let out a breath as Arthur left the room. “The Dolma really needs to be here tomorrow,” he muttered to Gaius.

Gaius narrowed his eyes. “Oh, she will be. Just leave it to me,” he ended firmly.

Mordred spared a second to feel sorry for Merlin before remembering that all of this Arthur mess was his/the Dolma’s fault to begin with; if Merlin was going to mess with the king like that, he deserved what he got from Gaius as a result.

*~*

Merlin was surprised he got a whole day’s reprieve from avoiding his problems - usually Gaius was firmer with him facing what he had done head-on. Apparently that meant Gaius was fresh out of sympathy the next morning, as Merlin woke up to a faceful of cold water.

“Get up, Merlin,” Gaius ordered as Merlin spluttered. 

“I - what? The king isn’t expecting me for another couple days at least!” Merlin protested.

Gaius leaned in. “That may be the case, Merlin, but the Dolma did not show up yesterday - and the king was worried. You cannot afford to alienate him at this stage; you could set us all back years, maybe even decades or centuries!” Gaius leaned in even closer. “If you mess this up now and make me disappoint Alice, Merlin, I don’t know what I will do but it will be dire. Are we clear?”

“Alright, alright, I get it!” Merlin wiped the water out of his eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…I didn’t think - “

“No, Merlin, you didn’t!” Gaius snapped before softening. “You’ve given the magical community a chance, hope for a light at the end of a very long tunnel - I know it’s a lot to put on your shoulders, but it really does depend on you.”

Merlin slumped. “I know, but how am I supposed to face Arthur?” he moaned.

“Stopping all the flirting would be a good start,” Gaius called as he left the room.

“Stopping all the flirting,” Merlin mimicked as he got up and got ready to change. “If only it was that easy.”

*~*

So the Dolma appeared at the meeting chamber, explaining that her task was done and now, what was important was making progress on the draft of the new laws on magic.

She and Mordred had a spirited discussion on the nature of Druidic magic and how that type of magic should be categorized. The Dolma also pointed out some of the possible dangers of certain Druidic magic - say, their ability to communicate mind-to-mind. If that could be used on non-Druids, who had no context for it, it could accidentally convince someone they were mad, or be used maliciously to manipulate someone.

Mordred had no answer for that, as no such thing had ever been done, as far as they knew; but he had to admit it was a possibility. They started brainstorming some possible precautions - most importantly, most likely, was informing the public about said ability to prevent abuse of it, but how to do so without terrifying them?

They were so deep in their conversation they didn’t notice Arthur’s arrival, not until he was standing right behind them.

“I see there’s quite the conversation going on here,” he noted, causing the Dolma to jump a little in her seat. 

“Sire,” she coughed, hand to her chest. “You startled me.”

“I apologize, madam, it was not my intention,” Arthur started, before continuing carefully, “I…am glad to still find you here. I was worried, that after your not being here yesterday…I had possibly scared you off.”

Merlin gulped; the one time the prat actually wasn’t at fault and he apologized - now he felt guilty! He - the Dolma cleared her throat and responded, “No, sire, I - I may have overstepped originally, and then an important task came up, but - these laws are truly important, not only to me but to a large population of people who have suffered for too long, and I would not shirk my responsibilities to them.”

Arthur eyed her shrewdly. “You speak as though you are a leader yourself.”

The Dolma giggled uncomfortably. “I wouldn’t say that, sire.”

Mordred smirked. “No, sire, if there was any leader in the magical community, it would be Emrys.”

“Emrys?” Arthur asked as Merlin kicked Mordred under the table. “Why is this Emrys not present?”

“He is…hard to pin down, sire,” Mordred admitted as he dodged Merlin’s continued attacks, “and some believe he is only a myth rather than an actual person. He and the Once and Future King -“

“Are myths, I wouldn’t concern yourself with them,” the Dolma interrupted as she sent Mordred a mental message: You go too far!

Perhaps not far enough, Mordred mentally replied, but out loud he answered the Dolma. “As I said, sire, not all believe in him; even the Druids are divided, although I grew up in a group that wholeheartedly did.” 

Arthur was frowning. “Hmm. It sounds like trying to find Emrys would be a worthy goal…Any ideas, Mordred?”

The Dolma glared daggers at the young knight behind Arthur. 

“I don’t know, sire,” Mordred admitted. “But I can consult with the Druids, see if they know anything?”

“Do that,” Arthur ordered, “but - wait until Merlin has returned and can take over as scribe.”

Mordred nodded. “Aye, sire.”

Arthur turned to face the rest of the group. “Has anyone else heard of this…Emrys?”

Gaius paled a little and opened his mouth, but Geoffrey beat him to it. “Prophesied magical leader, supposed to bring a golden age of magic with the Once and Future King.”

Arthur paused. “Once and Future King - why does that sound so familiar?”

“I don’t know, sire,” Gaius spoke up, “but I do have some knowledge of Emrys. I don’t know if it will be helpful in finding him.”

Arthur’s brow furrowed. “Perhaps I can talk to you privately later, Gaius?”

Gaius bowed. “Of course.”

“Thank you. As for the rest of you,” Arthur turned to face the entire room. “I appreciate all you are helping me to achieve, and I hope that these laws can be the start of something bigger.”

With that, he swept from the room, leaving Merlin torn between anger at Mordred, fear for Gaius, fear for himself and a slowly-growing hope that these laws truly would usher in the prophesied golden age of magic.

*~*

That evening, Arthur knocked on Gaius’ door. He wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but he had a suspicion that it was going to be important and very possibly life-changing.

“Come in, sire,” Gaius called. 

Arthur opened the door; Gaius was sitting down at his table, a stack of books taller than his head at his elbow.

“Sit down, my boy,” Gaius instructed as he turned to the pile of books. “This is…a lot to explain, and I’m not entirely sure of all the details, but it’s what I know.”

“Seems to be a lot more than I know,” Arthur muttered absently as he sat. All those books to explain one prophecy?

Gaius shrugged. “To be fair, this is a very old prophecy. There are multiple translations and interpretations -“ He gestured to the pile of books. “ - that I gathered, if you are interested in reading them all, but these - “ He indicated a much smaller stack of books on a stool next to him. “ - are the ones that I believe to be most credible.”

Arthur had been grimacing at the idea of reading that entire stack of dusty old books, but refocused on Gaius at the end of his explanation. “Most credible? Why do you believe them to be the most credible?”

Gaius cleared his throat. “I - sire, I believe that Emrys is indeed someone who walks on this earth. In fact, I believe that he walks among us - to be frank, sire, I believe he lives here in Camelot.”

Arthur just stared at him. “The prophesied savior of magic - that mythical personage - has been hiding in a city that deemed his power illegal?”

Gaius pursed his lips. “It would be more accurate to say that Emrys is living in a city that deems his very self illegal; Emrys is not just a powerful sorcerer - he is *the* most powerful sorcerer ever, a being made of pure magic.”

Arthur rubbed his temple. “And this - person - has been in Camelot. Why would you think that?”

“Frankly, sire, the amount of magical threats this city - and your family - have faced for your entire life have been impossible. The fact that your father escaped them for so long, and you still have yet to succumb to any of them - the mind boggles. It should not be possible. And yet, you have - perhaps due to magical aid?”

Arthur frowned. “And you suspect that Emrys is the reason for my survival - for Camelot’s survival? But why?”

Gaius sighed. “The prophecy of Emrys is closely tied to the prophecy of another - the Once and Future King. He and Emrys are supposed to bring the golden age of magic and unite Albion together.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow. “And you believe me to be this Once and Future King?”

Gaius shrugged helplessly. “Who else has come so close to uniting Albion, sire? Mordred has informed us that Morgana fears Emrys as her doom and may have even encountered him herself; is it such a stretch to believe that you and Emrys are connected?”

Arthur was silent. “Morgana fears this Emrys?”

“According to Mordred, yes. And I believe he is correct. As I said, sire, I believe that Emrys has been protecting Camelot, which would put him in direct opposition to Morgana and her aims to rule herself.”

“And how do I know that this Emrys doesn’t plan to rule himself? Hasn’t been scaring Morgana and protecting Camelot in order to somehow take the throne himself, or - make me into some sort of puppet? You did say he was the most powerful sorcerer of all time - the last time we dealt with someone who was even close to as powerful, they wanted to rule.”

Gaius raised an eyebrow. “And how did that powerful sorcerer get defeated, sire?”

Arthur opened his mouth, but paused. “I…am not sure, actually.”

“What are the chances that a very powerful sorcerer was defeated by the most powerful sorcerer of all time?” Gaius asked smugly. “Rather than working together to ensure victory over Camelot?”

“…He could be more concerned about ruling by himself,” Arthur offered halfheartedly. 

“Really, sire?”

Arthur groaned. “Okay, maybe I’m being harsh, but - I’ve never met him! How am I supposed to trust him and his motives? How am I supposed to trust some prophesied other half, if - if they’ve never trusted me?”

Gaius shrugged. “Perhaps by believing that they have had a good reason. Or, if you’re so interested in meeting them to evaluate them yourself, arrange a meeting of some sort.”

Arthur scoffed. “And how, exactly, do I contact a mysterious, hidden person for a meeting?”

Gaius gave him a deadpan stare. “You’re the king of Camelot, sire. I think you can figure something out.”

Arthur stared back. “I guess I could talk to Gwen,” he muttered to himself. Then, focusing again on Gaius’ face, he thanked him for the information and headed out to find Gwen - but not before muttering how much he wished Merlin was there.

*~*

The second Arthur left, Merlin burst out of his room. “Gaius, what on earth were you thinking? He can’t - how could you - “

“Merlin!” his mentor interrupted. “Enough. It is time for Arthur to know - about his own fate, if not your role in it. It was important to keep yourself hidden during Uther’s reign, it was far too dangerous to reveal yourself - but now? Arthur has proven to be different, he’s rewriting the laws on magic. He trusts the Dolma, he was willing to trust in Dragoon, and he wishes you were here, now, to talk this through with him - give him a chance, Merlin! He deserves that.”

Merlin buried his head in his hands. “Does he, Gaius? Does he deserve to learn that the one person he’s trusted for all these years, one of his trusted magical advisors - more than one, actually - have been lying to him? For years?”

Gaius bowed his head. “At my counsel. And…I believe I was wrong. I think he should meet Emrys - well-disguised, of course, but give him a chance to ask some questions, reassure himself that you’re not some power-hungry manipulator!”

“Alright! Alright. I’ll think about it. Remind me when Alice is supposed to arrive, again?” Merlin asked.

“She should be right outside Camelot in the next couple days - she’ll send me a message, let me know so you can go to enter the city with her.”

“Right. Right, okay. Then I guess I should…I should go. Sleep.” Merlin mumbled as he turned away.

Gaius frowned worriedly as Merlin disappeared. Perhaps he had overstepped, but…it was time Arthur knew of his destiny and the powerful ally he had. Arthur had become a king worthy of the knowledge.

*~*

Arthur’s mind was whirling as he swept through the castle in search of Gwen. A prophecy about a mysterious sorcerer and a king, a king with a lofty title, supposedly him, how on earth -

His train of thought was interrupted as he bumped into Lancelot.

“Sire?” his knight asked.

Arthur waved his concerned look aside. “I’m looking for Gwen, do you know where she is?”

Lancelot flushed a little and cleared his throat. “I believe she is in her chambers, sire.”

Arthur couldn’t help smirking. “And how do you know that?”

Lancelot didn’t dignify that with an answer, choosing to trot down the corridor instead. 

Arthur chuckled but let it go, heading towards Gwen’s chambers.

When he arrived, Gwen was lying facedown, fully dressed, on her bed.

“That bad of a day, huh?” Arthur asked sympathetically from the doorway.

A hand stuck up straight in the air, pointer finger extended. “Entirely your fault,” came her muffled retort.

Arthur chuckled. “I guess, one could argue - “

Now the finger was pointed at him. “Don’t even start with me, sire.”

He smiled and entered her chambers properly, seating himself at her desk. 

She groaned at the sound of his sitting in her chair but rolled over to face him, still lying down. 

Arthur met her eyes for only a second before staring at his clasped hands instead. “I - I had quite the conversation with Gaius earlier,” he started hesitantly. “Apparently I am not only very likely to be a king from a prophecy hundreds and hundreds of years old, but also supposed to be working together with the most powerful sorcerer of all time. And whoever they are, Gaius suspects that they live in Camelot.”

Gwen just blinked at him. “I - what?”

Arthur threw up his hands. “Right? I just - who could it even be?”

Gwen waved a hand. “No, no that part makes total sense, no way you should have survived even half of the crazy things you have without help, but - prophecy? What kind of prophecy?”

Arthur stared at her. “Okay, apparently I’m the only one concerned about this mysterious possibly-dangerous sorcerer who has never deigned to reveal themselves.” At Gwen’s deadpan stare, he relented. “Oh, all right. Apparently this sorcerer and I are destined to unite Albion and bring about the golden age of magic, whatever that means.”

Gwen hummed thoughtfully. “Interesting. You think these laws are part of that?”

“It would make sense,” Arthur admitted, “but...I don’t know, this whole mysterious sorcerer thing is really worrying me. I have no idea who he is, what drives him - how am I supposed to trust someone who has been hiding from me all this time?”

Gwen sat up. “Maybe spread the word that you want to talk to him? Schedule some free time in the evening sometime in the next couple days to meet with him, give me some time to get the message out - this could be really important, Arthur,” Gwen added seriously. “You need to at least give him a chance.”

Arthur groaned but nodded. “Fine. You’re right, as usual. Send out your messages, I’ll meet with this Emrys three evenings from tonight - and hopefully it doesn’t backfire on me,” he finished darkly.

Gwen rolled her eyes. “Such doom and gloom, sire. I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised!”

*~*

“Arthur’s doing WHAT?” Merlin yelped after Gaius woke him the next day. 

“Planning an evening meeting with Emrys two nights from tonight,” Gaius explained calmly, as though every word out of his mouth wasn’t *ludicrous.* “The whole castle is buzzing about it.”

“The whole - why??”

“No one knows who Emrys is, so Gwen is getting the message spread as far as possible to make sure Emrys hears it,” Gaius replied, sipping at his tea. “Pretty ingenious, actually; with the message spreading so rapidly and thoroughly, Emrys won’t have to reveal when or how they heard.” He looked meaningfully at Merlin.

Merlin groaned. “This is still a bad idea.”

Gaius raised an eyebrow. “Is it really? You get a chance to explain yourself to Arthur, to gain his trust and fulfill your destiny - what about that is a bad idea?”

Merlin bit his lip. “Supposing I go. I can’t go as Dragoon - Arthur doesn’t trust him - or the Dolma - since she’s crucial for the law meetings, I can’t alienate her position by wrapping her up in Emrys stuff - so…what do I do? I can’t go as myself - “

“Well, you can,” Gaius mused, “as long as you cover your face. Wear a hooded cloak, maybe a spell for an extra layer of protection - I’m sure I remember reading something about a spell that made your face forgettable.”

Merlin blinked at him. “That’s…that’s actually not a bad idea.”

Gaius sipped at his tea smugly. “I do have them, you know.”

Merlin smiled. “You do, sometimes,” he called before heading to the change into the Dolma.

“Sometimes, the cheek!” Gaius muttered behind him.

*~*

Mordred kept staring at him while they were working on drafting more laws. Merlin could tell he wanted to talk, and was sorely tempted to use their telepathic link, but Merlin had made him promise not to use it and distract him while in the meetings.

Finally he couldn’t take it anymore; the Dolma stood up. “My old bones need a little airing out - Mordred, my boy, come help me find a nice little area to walk around in. I’m sure Gaius can take over for you as scribe for now,” she added airily, ignoring the dirty glare Gaius shot her. 

As they rounded the corner, the Dolma looked around to ensure they were alone and then asked in a low voice, “Well?”

Mordred was almost vibrating he was so pleased. “Emrys! This is amazing! You’re going to be meeting with the king, for real!”

“Keep your voice down,” she hissed, and Mordred subsided slightly. “Yes, I’m meeting with the king, but - he’s not going to know it’s me, Merlin. Just Emrys.”

Mordred nodded, looking slightly disappointed. “I suppose that makes sense.”

The Dolma glared. “I swear, Mordred, if you even think about telling - “

“I won’t, I won’t!” Mordred yelped, before sighing. “I just…Arthur trusts and depends on you so much as Merlin. I just wish he knew that he could trust you as Emrys just as much.”

Merlin sighed. “I know. But I’ve lied for so long, and he’s been betrayed by those he’s trusted again and again…” He swallowed. “Just - not yet.”

“Okay,” Mordred agreed softly. “Not yet.”

*~*

After that, they were able to get back to business. Merlin was actually quite proud of the progress they had made that day and collapsed onto the bench in Gaius’ chambers with a satisfied groan.

“Job well done today,” Gaius congratulated as he served dinner. “And I’ve received notice from Alice - she should be arriving in two day’s time.”

Merlin shot upright. “Gaius. Gaius, that means she’s arriving the same night I’m meeting Arthur as Emrys! How - I can’t arrive with her and meet Arthur at the same time!”

Gaius sighed. “Take a deep breath - do you really think that hadn’t occurred to me? I already asked her if she minded taking an extra day before coming to the castle - spending time in town, seeing what’s changed. She knows that Arthur meeting with Emrys is important, she doesn’t mind the delay.”

Merlin slumped back down. “Sorry, you’re right. I - thank you.”

“Of course,” Gaius replied. “Now eat your dinner.”

*~*

As the evening he was going to meet Emrys drew closer, Arthur had to admit he was getting…nervous. He tried to distract himself with training in the morning and afternoon, but while it helped in the moment, once he walked off the field he was just as nervous as before. 

He tried dropping in on the magical council, but that didn’t last long. He couldn’t sit still while listening to the updates, choosing to pace instead, and the Dolma quickly tired of it. She shooed him off as a distraction to everyone else. Arthur wanted to argue, but…she was entirely correct. Chastened, he hid in his chambers.

Gwen popped in to check on him, but he was a bit of bear to her; he regretted it the moment she pursed her lips and left, but he also continued feeling like he was going to crawl out of his skin. He was a man of action, and all this waiting around was starting to really get to him. 

Rather than leaving Arthur to stew as he deserved, Gwen had taken mercy on Arthur and sent Lancelot up to keep him company.

“Shouldn’t you be at the magical council meeting,” Arthur grumbled halfheartedly. 

Lancelot tilted his head. “No, sire, I wasn’t there today. I had…another assignment.”

Arthur pounced. “Another assignment?”

Lancelot coughed delicately. “Yes.”

Arthur raised an eyebrow at the lack of answer. “Are you going to tell me what that assignment was?”

Lancelot bit his lip. “Sire…” He took a deep breath. “It was an important favor for a friend.”

“More important than orders from your king?”

Lancelot squirmed before squaring his shoulders. “If your orders were more complicated than sitting in a room guarding scholars, then no; but in this case, Percival could take my place at the magical council and my friend’s favor required…me specifically.” He bowed his head. “I am sorry, sire, but this was too important a favor to decline.”

Arthur opened his mouth, ready to verbally strip Lancelot’s hide, when something occurred to him. “Lancelot, you mentioned having friends who would be impacted by the laws on magic changing,” he started slowly.

“Yes, sire.”

Arthur nodded. “Would one of those friends happen to go by the name Emrys?”

Lancelot froze. “Emrys, sire?”

Arthur turned face Lancelot fully. “Yes. Emrys. I’m sure you’ve heard the news that Emrys and I are meeting tonight.”

“I have, sire,” Lancelot replied.

“Would you happen to know who Emrys is?”

Lancelot’s face was pure stone. “I will not reveal his identity, sire. Do not ask that of me.”

Arthur’s shoulders slumped. “Who is this sorcerer, that he has more of your loyalty than your king?”

Lancelot was silent for a few minutes, before slowly starting to speak. “He is a good person, sire - one of the best I have ever met. He thinks he has good reason to hide his identity from you, and while I disagree - I will not betray his trust in this matter. But sire - he has done nothing that was not for the sake of Camelot and your own rule. He has worked harder and longer than you can imagine to help you and your people, and changing the laws - he’s both thrilled and terrified. Thrilled that they are changing for the better, but terrified that this meeting could endanger their passing. Especially if his identity is revealed prematurely.”

Arthur rubbed a hand into his forehead. “You believe that he is no threat to Camelot?”

“Absolutely not, sire,” Lancelot replied in a horrified voice. 

“And you agree with him, that revealing his identity could endanger these new laws?”

“I think,” Lancelot started carefully, “he fears revealing himself while the laws are still a secret could allow you to put an end to them in a fit of temper. He fears your temper overruling your better nature, in this case, and putting an end to so many hopes and dreams.”

“I suppose he doesn’t have a very good opinion of me, then,” Arthur grumbled.

“No, sire, actually quite the opposite,” Lancelot hurried to reply. “He admires you greatly, and believes in the change you two can bring to Camelot and all of Albion; he simply fears to lose your goodwill that his anonymity provides.”

“So I have met him before,” Arthur mused slowly.

Lancelot seemed to wrestle with himself before slowly admitting, “Yes, sire.”

“Thank you, Lancelot, for your honesty. Leave me,” Arthur ordered, waving a hand.

Lancelot turned to go, but hesitated. “And you’ll still meet with Emrys tonight?”

“I will,” Arthur responded firmly. “We may have more to discuss now than before, but I will keep my appointment.”

Lancelot bowed and left Arthur’s chambers.

Arthur sat, deep in thought, for the remainder of the time before his meeting with Emrys. 

*~*

Arthur made sure to arrive early at their meeting place, hoping that he would arrive before the mysterious sorcerer. However, he was still later than Emrys - what was it about sorcerers and arriving early, Arthur thought a little hysterically.

As Arthur arrived, the cloaked figure - Emrys - gave a deep bow. “Your Majesty,” emerged in a deep voice from inside the hood.

“Emrys,” Arthur greeted. “I was hoping to get a face-to-face meeting.”

“At this time, your majesty, I would prefer to remain unknown,” Emrys replied.

Arthur sighed. “Lancelot indicated as such.”

The cloaked figure froze. “Lancelot…told you about me?”

“Not who you are - he refused to reveal that secret - but he did ease many of my fears about your…motivations.”

Emrys drew himself to his full height. “I have always been loyal to Camelot and to you, your majesty - nothing will ever change that. I have no wish other than to fulfill our destiny.”

“Right, to bring a magical golden age and unite Albion.”

“Correct,” rumbled out of the hood. “Your new laws on magic are a crucial first step, and I cannot endanger that in any way.”

Arthur cocked his head. “You really think that revealing your identity will endanger the progress the magical council is making?”

Emrys was silent for a moment. “I…I hope it would not, but - I would rather be safe than sorry.”

Arthur’s mind was spinning. “Lancelot may have told you about the magical council, but I think you know more than that it exists - I think you’re on it. You’re Emrys - if it’s your destiny to bring this golden age of magic, no way you didn’t find a way to become involved.”

Arthur took Emrys’ silence as confirmation. 

“You don’t just live in Camelot, you’re someone close to me, someone I trust,” Arthur breathed. “How do I know you’re not like everyone else I trusted only to turn around and find that they had betrayed me?”

Emrys fell to his knees. “I swear, sire, I am loyal only to you and Camelot. If you wish me to swear an official oath of fealty, I will - but I cannot tell you who I am, not yet. Please,” Emrys begged, bowing his head. “I will tell you soon, but…not yet. Please, just give me a little more time.”

Arthur wavered, but between Lancelot’s words ringing in his ears and Emrys’ abject subservience…he believed them. “Very well,” he responded gruffly. “Your loyalty is true.”

Emrys stood fluidly. “Thank you, sire,” came from under the hood, the deep voice sounding a little breathless.

“For now, just - continue what you have been doing, and - we’ll talk about who you are later,” Arthur waved off Emrys’ deep bow. “Oh, enough of that, you probably outrank me as a mythical figure of legend.”

“I believe the myth describes both of us, sire,” came the surprisingly cheeky reply.

Arthur couldn’t hold back his chuckle. “Off with you!”

Emrys bowed once more before walking off. 

Arthur had a lot to think about…but he had to admit, knowing he had Emrys on his side was reassuring. 

*~*

Back in Gaius’ chambers, Merlin took off his cloak, with a broad grin that could not be contained. 

“It went that well, then?” Gaius asked.

“Pretty well, yeah,” Merlin admitted. “I convinced him that I’m loyal, at least. He knows Emrys is on the council, but he doesn’t know who I am - yet, anyway. One more day as the Dolma, then I arrive with Alice tomorrow night,” Merlin groaned as he sat down.

“Right, I should let Arthur know,” Gaius exclaimed. “At council tomorrow.”

*~*

Arthur spent the majority of the next day in the magical council chambers. He paid attention when his opinions were consulted, or anyone addressed him directly, but otherwise sat in a corner thinking for most of that time.

Emrys was here. He was here and Arthur really had no idea who he was.

Percival would have made sense - he was close with Lancelot, and had a mostly-unknown past - but Emrys had been far smaller than Percival’s massive frame, and Arthur hadn’t gotten the sense than Emrys had changed the shape of his body for the meeting; the sorcerer hadn’t been clumsy or uncertain in his movements the way a change in body size would have caused. So Percival was definitely out.

Mordred was another strong possibility, due to his Druidic upbringing, but…he was too young, too green to command leadership the way Emrys had.

Lancelot himself could have been the “friend” he had been talking about, but his loyalty to Emrys had seemed genuine; and Lancelot was not the type to be so staunchly loyal to his own self. No, Lancelot wasn’t Emrys either.

Arthur wracked his brain for who else it could be - Gaius could not have survived Uther’s purge had he been so powerful, not to mention his advanced age; Geoffrey was also far too old; the Dolma was not only old but a woman…

As though she was aware of his thinking of her, the Dolma rose suddenly to her feet. “I apologize for the hour of this announcement - “ Arthur abruptly realized how late in the day it actually was; later afternoon, almost evening - “but today will be my last day here in Camelot for a little while. I have important business elsewhere - I will, of course, return once it has concluded, but for now, I must take my leave.” She curtseyed deeply towards Arthur. “Thank you for this opportunity, sire, it has been - incredible.”

Arthur inclined his head graciously. “It was our pleasure to be gifted with your knowledge and wisdom, madam; our thanks to you as well.”

The Dolma beamed. “You are too kind to an old woman, sire.”

With that, Mordred escorted her from the room.

Once the Dolma left, Gaius quietly asked, “Sire?”

“Yes, Gaius?”

“I just wanted to let you know that I heard from Alice; she and Merlin should be arriving tonight.”

Arthur felt himself light up, as much as he tried to stop it. “Wonderful! When he arrives, send him to my chambers; I…have something I want to talk to him about. I’ll have the kitchens send something up, as well.”

Gaius smiled. “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled, sire.”

*~*

Merlin didn’t exactly look thrilled when he arrived, but Arthur was too happy to really care. So happy, in fact, that he swept Merlin into a hug. “You’re back,” he breathed softly.

Merlin seemed a little stunned, but tentatively hugged him back. “I am,” he responded a little breathlessly. “Were you that worried?”

Arthur let him go at that, blushing and coughing into his fist. “Not worried, just…missed you. A lot’s happened since you were gone, and I wanted to talk to you about - so much.”

Merlin smiled gently. “Okay, well - I’m here now.”

“Right, right,” Arthur backed off a little, gestured at the spread of food the kitchens had sent up. “Why don’t you have something to eat first?”

Merlin beamed. “You know me so well, sire,” he teased as he started to serve himself.

Arthur watched fondly, thinking about how well he did know Merlin…as well as what he didn’t know. He didn’t know if Merlin had feelings for anyone, if he had ever had a male paramour, if he felt anything more than friendship for Arthur…

Merlin interrupted his - frankly - depressing train of thought. “So? What happened while I was gone?”

*~*

Merlin listened with half an ear as Arthur told him about the progress the magical council had made, his interactions with the members, all things Merlin knew…but he focused as Arthur started to talk about meeting with Emrys.

“I definitely feel better after meeting him,” Arthur admitted, “I know now that he is the honorable man Lancelot described; I just…I wish he trusted me enough to come forward with his identity,” he finished softly. “I do know that he’s part of the council, but I - I just don’t know who.”

Merlin gulped, nerves flaring. “Maybe trust that he has a reason to hide?”

Arthur sighed. “That’s what Lancelot said. It’s not that I don’t trust him, I do. I just wished he trusted me more, enough to believe that I wouldn’t hold back progress to spite him, whoever he is.”

Merlin felt guilt squirming in his gut. “Maybe…maybe he does trust you,” he hedged, “but is finding it hard to break years of habit? If he has been in Camelot for a long time…he must have grown used to hiding.”

Arthur stared at him strangely. “You…make a good point.” He suddenly smiled. “Thank you, Merlin.”

Merlin automatically smiled back, heart stuttering. “My pleasure, Arthur.”

“Now, why don’t you tell me about your time on the road?”

Crap.

*~*

Arthur half-listened to Merlin’s surprisingly hesitant tale of his time on road with Alice - perhaps he thought that Arthur was still unhappy with his departure? - but became distracted by Merlin’s eyes. The few times they met Arthur’s head-on, he quickly looked away, but for those few moments, Arthur could have sworn he had seen those eyes in a different face…

Finally, it came to him. “The Dolma!” he blurted out loud.

Merlin froze, mouth gaping. “Wh-what?” he stuttered.

“The Dolma! She has the same eyes that you do,” Arthur said wonderingly. “How have I never noticed that before?”

Merlin laughed unconvincingly. “You think your magical advisor and I have the same eyes? Arthur, that’s - “

“I know what I saw,” Arthur interrupted firmly. “You two have the same eyes - is she your grandmother?”

Merlin stared at him. “My *what*?”

“Your grandmother. She’s probably where you got your eyes, your odd wisdom - and your magic, of course.”

*~*

Merlin’s heart stopped. “What did you just say?”

“Your magic,” Arthur said, sounding as though he was stating the obvious.

Merlin just gaped at him.

Arthur frowned. “Merlin. Did you think I didn’t know about your magic?”

Merlin snapped his mouth shut.

Arthur let out a disbelieving chuckle. “Merlin. Your lie about Will being a sorcerer was terrible. I let it go at the time, since I was still - well, still a prejudiced fool, but looking back - it was quite obvious.”

“So, you’ve - you’ve known?”

“Known that you’re a sorcerer? Of course.”

Merlin laughed bitterly. “So you don’t know everything. Just some of it.”

Arthur’s brow furrowed. “What else is there to know? You’re Merlin. My clumsy, kind-hearted, sometime-wise, magical manservant.”

“You’d be amazed how often that clumsiness was to cover some sort of magic, sire,” Merlin replied quietly.

Arthur went silent. “What else don’t I know?”

Merlin groaned. “A lot, Arthur. But…can we talk about it tomorrow, maybe?”

Arthur looked closely; Merlin did look quite tired, and it was getting late. “Tomorrow morning, over breakfast - and you’re telling me *everything.* Okay?” Arthur asked sternly.

“Yes, sire,” Merlin replied snidely, softening his jibe with a smile. “I promise.”

“Get some sleep then,” Arthur waved him off, and Merlin went gratefully.

*~*

The next morning, as he fetched Arthur’s breakfast - twice as much as usual, according to the cook, due to Arthur’s request - he was still nervous, but…not scared. Whatever Arthur’s reaction to his confessions, he knew that Arthur wouldn’t undo the progress he was making. And maybe Arthur would need time to cool his temper, but in the end - they were a team, him and Arthur, and that was never going to change. 

And maybe, a small voice at the back of his head added, once all his secrets were revealed, maybe there was hope for them romantically.

Merlin shook that thought out of his head quickly; no need to get ahead of himself. One step at a time. Telling Arthur the truth - all his truths - was going to be enough of an obstacle without romantic feelings muddling everything.

He entered Arthur’s chambers without ceremony, as he had for years, and was surprised to see Arthur already up and dressed.

“Arthur, what - “ he started, only for Arthur to come over and relieve him of the breakfast tray.

“I woke up early and figured the sooner we could talk, the better,” Arthur answered his unasked question. “I…I want to know,” he finished quietly.

Merlin’s heart lurched. He really hoped that this confession was not going to be the end of everything, as he had feared for so long.

*~*

Arthur sat down and filled a plate as Merlin paced in front of him. “You aren’t going to sit? Eat something?” Arthur asked.

Merlin waved a hand. “Too nervous to eat, and if I sit I’ll just fidget,” he replied somewhat absentmindedly. “Where to start, where to start,” he muttered, before taking a deep breath.

“Okay. Okay. To start, the Dolma is not my grandmother. My mother’s parents died before I was born, and - I suspect the same of my father’s parents.”

Arthur frowned. “I thought you said you never knew your father.”

Merlin choked out a laugh. “At the time, that was true. I - Gaius, eventually, told me - my father was a Dragonlord.”

Arthur couldn’t breathe. “You mean - “

“Yeah,” Merlin huffed. “Balinor was my father. And I - I didn’t know until we went to find him. And then - “ Merlin went quiet, blinking hard.

“Oh, Merlin, I’m so sorry,” Arthur breathed.

“I’ve shed enough tears,” Merlin gritted out, swiping at his eyes. “Okay. Moving on. So - you know I have magic. But I suspect you don’t know…exactly how much.”

Arthur shrugged. “I figured you had a certain amount, but not too much. Why else risk coming to Camelot while my father still ruled?”

Merlin couldn’t help chuckling at that. “You have a good point. But - I came because the village was growing suspicious of me, and Gaius - my mother knew that Gaius had once practiced, and hoped that he could teach me some control. You see, I have - quite a bit of magic. I have ever since I was born.”

Arthur froze. “Quite a bit, meaning?”

Merlin bowed, deeply, and Arthur was struck by how familiar it looked. “I’m Emrys, sire.”

“Emrys,” Arthur mouthed, putting the pieces together. How inseparable he and Merlin had been, Merlin’s odd wisdom, how close he was with Lancelot - Lancelot, who knew Emrys well…

“So, the Dolma?” Arthur asked, focusing on the strangest part of the puzzle.

Merlin blushed. “I - she’s, well, me.”

Arthur closed his eyes. “You’re the Dolma?”

“Well, you see - I found an aging spell a while ago. But you had already met me as my older male self, so - I had to come up with another disguise, and so the Dolma was born.”

Arthur pinched his nose. “Your older male self?”

Merlin coughed. “Dragoon, sire.”

“Dragoon, the Dolma - you’re both of them.”

Merlin just nodded.

“So - you saved Gwen, and - tried to save my father, and saved Gwen again, and - and - *flirted* with me, and - “ Arthur waved his hand to indicate everything else as his voice failed him.

“Yep,” Merlin squeaked. 

Arthur buried his head in his hands. “So you heard - “

“That too,” Merlin interrupted, voice still higher than usual. “Yep.”

Arthur peeked at his manservant through his fingers. “And?”

Merlin blushed. “And what?”

Arthur averted his eyes, unable to look at Merlin while he asked. “And, do you have anything you want to say back?”

He heard shuffling sounds, and looked down to see Merlin kneeling at his feet. “Arthur, as much as I may have been on your mind, I promise - you have been on mine far more,” Merlin rumbled.

Arthur felt a shiver go down his spine at the sudden lower timbre of voice emanating from Merlin’s throat. “I - that’s g-good to know,” he stuttered, feeling his face heat.

Merlin smirked up at him. “And even with you distracting me all the time, I bet I still managed to get more done,” he teased.

Arthur harrumphed. “In your dreams.”

Merlin hummed smugly. “I’ll tell you all about it later, but for now - maybe let’s finish these new laws on magic, hmm?”

Arthur nodded mutely.

So, with a lot of help, they did.

The new laws were the beginning of great change throughout Camelot, and Albion as a whole - and so the prophecy came to pass, with Arthur and Merlin ruling side-by-side.


End file.
